Battered and Brusied, Inside and Out
by Bubbles975
Summary: Finnick takes a trip down memory lane after a hard nights work...but what will his memories reveal?


Finnick woke up, groaning, the flashy Capitol curtains doing little to filter the harsh sunlight flooding in from the decorated window in his temporary apartment. The one he occupied as mentor for the district 4 tributes for the 70th hunger games. He sighed, and started staring at the ceiling, grimacing in pain when he ran his manicured hands down his sweaty body. Last night was rough. Sure, this 'job' of his isn't the most pleasant thing, in fact quite the opposite, but this woman...she was ridiculous. She never seemed to get enough. He tore his eyes from the roof, and they were attracted to a glitter of gold. Finnick rolled over and reached towards the golden necklace, a 'gift', and the note accompanying it. He pulled the paper towards him, a sickly pink colour and smelling like it had been dipped in perfume, and began to read.

_Morning, my dear Finnick,_

_Last night was a blast! Sorry to say, I have something to do this morning, so I had to leave you early. But don't worry; I won't leave you alone for too long, as I'll drop round, Friday night. I left you my necklace, so that every time you look at it, it will remind you of me_

_See ya soon sweetie,_

_Haylee._

Finnick let out a cry of frustration, and crushed the note into a little ball on his palm, and then he threw it against the wall, with as much strength he could muster. Which, at the current moment in time, wasn't much. When it impacted and made an unsatisfying crumpling noise he closed his eyes for a moment before springing out of the four -poster bed, and stumbling towards the shower, desperate to wash away all traces of the previous night. But as Finnick turned towards the downpour of water, he stopped dead as he saw his reflection in the full-length bathroom mirror. And he now understood why he was so uncomfortable when he woke up. He had bruises in all different places all over his body, some a deep grey-purple, others a bright beetroot red. He had some on his shoulders, some on his legs, some on his stomach. But the majority of them where centred around his pelvis, showing up starkly against the healing skin that was damaged only just a few nights ago. He had to make sure to cover up today, at least until he could get his hands on an ointment that would sooth and vanish the angry blotchy spots.

Finnick set the shower to a gentle, hot, soothing wash. He stepped in, the heat of the water slightly relieving his bruises, and he let his worries wash down the drain. He was dreading these games. He hated having to teach children, children from his own district, how to kill others, just to later watch them being killed themselves. All of this crap about the careers was just that. Crap. It didn't matter is you were teamed up with the most vicious killers; they would just turn that ability on you later. Plus coming here to mentor meant more 'work' for him. It was if Snow had found a line-up of women, just for him. Just the thought made Finnick shudder.

Snow never ran out of ways to hurt and manipulate people. Like when, days after his 16th birthday, a mysterious accident left his father crippled and the family boat, their main source of income, destroyed.

How, just days after the accident, he was approached by the monster himself, reeking of roses.

How he made him an offer.

_"Mr Odair, I am so sorry for your...loss. That boat was your family's main source of income, am I correct?"_

_"Yeah," Finnick replied softly, staring at the ground._

_"It's such a shame that such an...accident could affect anyone, let alone a family, in such a massive way. What will you do for money?" Snow said. Finnick swore he was biting his lip._

_"I'll find work somewhere. I'll get some money. Sell some stuff, maybe."_

_"Well..." Snow paused, before saying "I could make you an..offer." Finnicks head perked up._

_"Really? Like a job?" _

_"Yes. A job." a smirk started to form on Snow lips, and Finnick became confused._

_"Er...what would I be doing?"_

_"Oh, nothing much. We just need you to provide your...services."_

_"My...services? What do you mean?"_

_"You're a smart boy, Mr Odair. You won the games. You have captured the hearts of many women in the Capitol. They love and adore you, and they would do anything for you. And..." an evil smile crossed his lips. " You just turned 16."_

_Finnick choked when he relished what the president was implying._

_"Y-you mean y-you want m-me to go to th- the Capitol and d-do th-that?" Finnick stuttered. Then he closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and started to stare Snow down. Then, he said "No thank you, that won't be___ necessary.___ I will find a job here in 4, and along with my mentoring it will be enough." Snow was clearly startled by his reaction, but he quickly regained his posture._

_"But surely, Mr Odair, you know that your father cannot work anymore, not after this! And your family boat was destroyed in the accident! And your mother will not be able to find work, and your siblings are too young! You can not manage everything on your own!"_

_"Yes. I will." Finnicks voice was harsh and unforgiving._

_"Thank you for your offer, President Snow, but I have to go and sort out our remaining finances. Goodbye."_

_"You'll regret this! " Finnick left Snow shouting at him as he walked out of the room calmly and slammed the door behind him."_

_And it was then that he realised that the accident was no accident._

Finnick sighed, running his hands through his wet hair. He started to gently scrub at his battered body, being careful to avoid his sore spots.

_"Marley?" Finnick pounded his fist on his younger brothers door. "Get up! We need to get to the markets and sell those nets we made yesterday!" He heard a mumbled reply from the other side, and moved onto the next door._

_"Savvana? You up?" he was about to pound on it like he had Marley's, when the door creaked open._

_Revealing the dead body of his younger sister._

_Finnick drew a shaky breath, and felt the blood drain from his face. He commanded his feet towards the bed, but they were only moving slowly, as if they were rusty clockwork. He saw the knife protruding from her neck, the blade coated in a thin, slick layer of blood. Her face was deathly pale, and her emerald-green eyes were wide open, shining as if tears were about to fall from them. That's when Finnick saw the note on her stomach, written on crisp white paper, the edges stained red. And he fell to his knees, his salty tears mingling in with the fresh crimson blood that stained the carpet._

**YOU WERE WARNED.**

_It was his fault._

And Finnick let himself cry now, his tears combing with the warm water snaking around his body.

_When Finnick arrived at the Capitol, he found President Snow waiting for him, a satisfied smirk playing on his blood-red lips. It took all Finnick had to not go and find a trident and stab him over and over again, watching the light fade from his snake-like eyes. He shook his head violently, trying to get that terrible thought out of his head. That's how they think. Become like one of them, and it's all over. And Finnick couldn't let that happen. Not again. Snow approached him._

_"I take it that you have reconsidered my offer?" Finnick looked into his eyes before flinching and turning away, finding nothing by an un-ending void of darkness inside._

_"Yes," he replied, his voice barely a whisper, almost getting snatched away by the breeze._

_"Be in your apartment by 9 tonight," he said, handing him a slip of crisp, white paper. " Don't disappoint me again."_

Finnick turned off the shower, stepping out onto a plush bathmat, his feet sinking into the soft surface. He didn't have any more work scheduled for the next five days. That means he could mentor the tributes un-interrupted. Then watch them get slaughtered like lambs.

No, Finnick thought to himself. This year was different. Yes, the boy was too rash, too eager to kill. He would die very quickly, Finnick could see that. But the girl...she was different. Annie Cresta was her name. He could tell she would go far in these games. Finnick couldn't tell why but...he just knew. She was slightly hysterical, but she had lightning fast reflexes and was a brilliant swimmer. She would have to watch her back, as most of the tributes were bigger that her. But...

Finnick could only hope that the odds were in her favour.

A/N Okay-dokie! First things first, please note that I wrote this on a plane to Los Angles, on an iPad (extremely useful, but irritating of you are trying to type a big body of text), with none of my books to cross check facts with. AND WITH NO SPELL CHECK! So I apologise for any errors in this, storyline-wise or grammar-wise, or anything else-wise. But this idea has been in my head FOREVER and I had to write it down somewhere. So, I did it while I was being dead bored on a plane. What I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry if it's terrible.

**At the time I wrote this review, I currently have no clue what to call this one-shot, but I'll figure it out. And a free non-existent cookie if you just read all of that!**

**Peace out, and PLEASE review,**

**~ Bubbles975 ~**


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